32. Taxman (Revolver, 1966)
Beatles version:
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George's "Oh, so this is what happens to grown-ups" song where he, like the rest of us, first gets a paycheck and sees the government bite out of it. Unlike my first job at an ice cream joint paying me $2/hour, George perhaps could have afforded to pay a little more, but I can't blame him for protesting what was in fact a 90-95% combined income tax rate in his bracket at the time. Then he learned that the taxes wouldn't even go away when you die due to the "death tax" ("
Now my advice for those who die; declare the pennies on your eyes."). George wasn't the only Beatle upset by this - they all expressed their disgust with this at one time or another. In fact, since John helped George with the lyrics to this song - notably the lines about the current Prime Minister Mr. Wilson and the opposition party leader and future Prime Minister Mr. Heath - I wouldn't be surprised if some of that cynicism crept into the song from John himself.
This song represented a first for George, as it was the first time he was given such a coveted spot on a Beatles record - opening track on side one. This placement as well as the significant time the group put into the song's production indicate to me that this was considered to be one of the record strongest songs...on a record where pretty much every song was insanely good. Until this thread, I had no idea this was a love/hate song; I assumed all reasonable people loved it.
I assume that those who hate it are mostly turned off by the lyrics, which would be understandable. Sometimes I find them terribly clever, especially the bridge; sometimes they strike me as irritating or worse as childish or self-serving. It's my ambivalence over the lyrics that leads to this song missing the top 25.
wikkid mentioned after I ranked "She's A Woman" that this was the same song. I should let him point out what he sees as the similarities, but among other things I think the stabby guitars sound similar, and as with the other song, I love that part of this one. I don't much like Paul's husky vocal on "She's A Woman," though, and prefer George's clear but sneering performance here. I love the harmonies that come into the call-and-response-style bridge, building to a frenzy that is heightened by the searing guitar solo that follows. I even love the slightly disturbed-sounding count-in that's not really a count-in, as you can here in the distance the real count-in, all of this harkening back to "I Saw Her Standing There" while simultaneously announcing that this is going to be different.
The highlights for me, though, are in the bass line/drums, as well as that crazy, brilliant guitar solo. Credit for almost all of those items goes to Paul. First, he and Ringo establish a wicked groove with the ever-changing, impossibly quick bass lines and percussion. Love how these are punctuated after each line of the verse with those cymbal crashes followed by jabby, jarring crashes of simultaneous dueling minor and major chords on the guitars. Am I the only one who sings "Taxman!!" to those chords even though no one else is singing? Most importantly, despite this being a George song, Paul performs the guitar solo. According to Geoff Emerick, "George had a great deal of trouble playing the solo – in fact, he couldn’t even do a proper job of it when we slowed the tape down to half speed. After a couple of hours of watching him struggle, both Paul and George Martin started becoming quite frustrated. So George Martin went into the studio and, as diplomatically as possible, announced that he wanted Paul to have a go at the solo instead." (
@OrtonToOlsen alert.) Paul told this story slightly differently, indicating that he went to George with an idea for the solo, bringing in an Indian element, and that George suggested he play it. Despite Emerick's further claim that George was pissed that Paul stole the solo, George stated in an interview in the 1980s that he was pleased to have had Paul play and appreciated that he brought in the Indian feel that George was so intrigued by at the time. However it came about, there's no doubt that the solo, which was done in one or two takes, was fiercely energetic and stunning, so much so that they decided to re-use it by dubbing it (along with its backing track) over George's vocal at the end of the song.
Also there's cowbell.
Mr. krista: "What planet does that guitar solo come from? The 1,2,3,4 is nowhere near the tempo. I’m not sure but I feel like the solos and leads were recorded one way and played backwards. There’s a real Indian quality. Ringo’s drums have never sounded like that before. Just a killer way to open a record. Doesn’t get any better. It rocks so hard. It’s like here, guys, it’s a different thing now. Surpasses the juvenile lyrics. Bass line is straight out Jamerson/Motown. Using his fingers but really heavy, walking all over without stepping on anybody. He and Ringo just right there – bam."
Suggested cover: Junior Parker